Daniel 3:2

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Nebuchadnezzar	וּנְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֣ר u.ne.vu.khad.ne.Tzar	H5020	Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
king	מַלְכָּ֡א mal.Ka'	H4430	a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
sent	שְׁלַ֡ח she.Lach	H7972	to send away · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
together	לְמִכְנַ֣שׁ le.mikh.Nash	H3673	to assemble · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
princes	לַֽאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנַיָּ֡א la.'a.chash.dar.pe.nai.Ya'	H324	a satrap or governorof amain province (of Persia) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
governors	סִגְנַיָּ֣א sig.nai.Ya'	H5460	a prefect of aprovince · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
captains	וּֽפַחֲוָתָ֡א u.fa.cha.va.Ta'	H6347	a prefect (of a city or small district) · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural determined + particle of affirmation
judges	אֲדַרְגָּזְרַיָּא֩ 'a.dar.ga.ze.rai.Ya'	H148	a chief diviner · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
treasurers	גְדָ֨בְרַיָּ֤א ge.Da.ve.rai.Ya'	H1411	a treasurer · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
counsellors	דְּתָבְרַיָּא֙ de.ta.ve.rai.Ya'	H1884	meaning one skilled in law · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
sheriffs	תִּפְתָּיֵ֔א tif.ta.Ye'	H8614	judicial · noun, common masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
all	וְכֹ֖ל ve.Khol	H3606	properly · conjunction + noun, common both genders singular construct
rulers	שִׁלְטֹנֵ֣י shil.to.Nei	H7984	a potentate · noun, common masculine plural construct
provinces	מְדִֽינָתָ֑א me.di.na.Ta'	H4083	properly · noun, common feminine plural determined + particle of affirmation
come	לְמֵתֵא֙ le.me.Te'	H858	to arrive · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
dedication	לַחֲנֻכַּ֣ת la.cha.nu.Kat	H2597	consecration · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
image	צַלְמָ֔א tzal.Ma'	H6755	an idolatrous figure · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
Nebuchadnezzar	נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּ֥ר ne.vu.khad.ne.Tzar	H5020	Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar · proper noun, a man's name
king	מַלְכָּֽא mal.Ka'	H4430	a king · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
up	הֲקֵ֖ים ha.Keim	H6966	to rise (in various applications · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Daniel 3:27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had…
Exodus 32:4-6 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy go…
Numbers 25:2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.
Judges 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said,…
1 Kings 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered u…
Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
Daniel 6:1-4 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
Daniel 6:6-7 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 3:1-7

We have no certainty concerning the date of this story, only that if this image, which Nebuchadnezzar dedicated, had any relation to that which he dreamed of, it is probable that it happened not long after that; some reckon it to be about the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, a year before Jehoiachin's captivity, in which Ezekiel was carried away. Observe, I. A golden image set up to be worshipped. Babylon was full of idols already, yet nothing will serve this imperious prince but they must have one more; for those who have forsaken the one only living God, and begin to set up many gods, will find the gods they set up so unsatisfying, and their desire after them so insatiable, that they will m…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 3:2

princes--"satraps" of provinces [GESENIUS]. captains--rulers, not exclusively military. sheriffs--men learned in the law, like the Arab mufti [GESENIUS].

Adam Clarke on Daniel 3:2

Sent to gather together the princes - It is not easy to show what these different offices were, as it is difficult to ascertain the meaning of the Chaldee words. Parkhurst analyzes them thus: - The Princes - אחשדרפניא achashdarpenaiya, from אחש Achash, great or eminent, and דר dar, "to go about freely," and פנים panim, "the presence." Satraps or privy counsellors who had free access to the presence of the king. The Governors - סגניא signaiya, lieutenants or viceroys, for סגן sagan, among the Hebrews, was the name of the high priest's deputy. The Captains - פחותא pachavatha, from פח pach, to extend, because set over those provinces that had been annexed to the kingdom by conquest. Pashas - T…

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John Gill on Daniel 3:2

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes,.... He sent letters, or dispatched messengers, into the several provinces of his empire, and parts of his dominions, to convene all the peers of his realm, and governors of provinces, and all officers, civil, military, and religious, expressed by various names and titles: the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces; who are particularly and distinctly designed is not easy to say. Jacchiades thinks they answer to the same offices and officers which now obtain in the Turkish empire; princes are the "bashaws"; governors the "beglerbegs"; captains…

The Church Fathers

And having sent out a command he summoned together the governors, captains and rulers and all of those in authority to come to the consecration of the image, which Nebuchadnezzar the king set up.
— Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.15.4

Verse 2. "Nebuchadnezzar sent therefore to the satraps, magistrates and judges, the dukes and potentates, and the prefects and all the princes of the various districts that they should gather themselves together." It is the higher ranks which stand in the greater peril, and those who occupy the loftier position are the more sudden in their fall. The princes are assembled to worship the statue in order that through their princes the nations also might be attracted into error, For those who possess riches and power are all the more easily overthrown because of their apprehension of being bereft of them. But after the magistrates are led astray, the subject populace perish through the evil example of their superiors.
— Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER THREE

The enemy prepares the theatre, and he himself collects together the spectators, and prepares the lists; a theatre too, not of chance persons, or of some private individuals, but of all those who were honourable and in authority, to the end that their testimony may be worthy of credit with the multitude. They had come summoned for one thing; but they all departed having beheld another thing. They came in order to worship the image; and they departed, having derided the image, and struck with wonder at the power of God, through the signs which had taken place with respect to these young men. And observe, where the field for this display was spread out. No city, nor select enclosure furnished room for this theatre of the whole world, but smooth and naked plains. For in the plain of Dura, outside the city, he set up the image.
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES CONCERNING THE STATUES 4:8

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abednego — Servant of Nego=Nebo, the Chaldee name given to Azariah, one of Daniel’s three companions (Dan. 2:49). With Shadrach and Meshach, he was delivered from the burning fiery furnace (3:12-30).
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Lieutenants — The Hebrew achash darpan was the official title of the satraps or viceroys who governed the provinces of the Persian empire; it is rendered “prince” in (Daniel 3:2; 6:1)
Nebuchadnezzar — In the Babylonian orthography Nabu-kudur-uzur, which means “Nebo, protect the crown!” or the “frontiers.” In an inscription he styles himself “Nebo’s favourite.” He was the son and successor of…
Sheriffs — (Dan. 3:2), Babylonian officers.
Tatnai — Gift, a Persian governor (Heb. pehah, i.e., “satrap;” modern “pasha”) “on this side the river”, i.e., of the whole tract on the west of the Euphrates. This Hebrew title pehah is given to governors of…
Coercion · RELIGIOUS — RELIGIOUS
Dedication · By idolaters in setting up idols — By idolaters in setting up idols
Indictments · .Three Hebrew — .Three Hebrew
Sheriff · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Daniel 3:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 3:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 3:2

Adam Clarke on Daniel 3:2

John Gill on Daniel 3:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Daniel 3:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Daniel 3:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Daniel 3:2

Adam Clarke on Daniel 3:2

John Gill on Daniel 3:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Daniel 3:2

Keil & Delitzsch on Daniel 3:1-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Daniel 3:2

Rashi on Daniel 3:2